Should government ban street vending for good in all towns of Zambia?

TOTAL VALID RESPONSES: 277

NOTE: This is not a representative sample but concerns raised by participants may be helpful to policy markers

SOME OF THE COMMENTS MADE BY PARTICIPANTS

NJIKHO MUSUKU: What has a vendor who sells shoes or clothes got to do with cholera? If cholera is there focus, let then ban people selling food stuffs and those without food continue to trade. On the other hand, vending brings chaos in our towns. It’s clear we did not have a proper reason to remove these people as they were brought due to political support.

ENOCK CHABALA: A market is a place for trading. Not a corridor. To be realistic, let us start from here. No more street vending. Look at Livingstone. So nice and refreshing. Let us be clean for once.

KYENGULA PRECIOUS: They should leave out certain streets for vendors. Let them make good shelters where to sell from, not those shelters with plastics, boxes, sacks, etc. Vendors should be made to clean their space every day and no litter throwing. Patrolling by soldiers should continue for some time till these vendors get conditioned.

MIKE BANDA: Street vending must be banned without any conditions. There are no sanitary facilities in the streets to cater for the vendors. Government must move the vendors to market places that are mostly left vacant in preference for the streets. New or additional markets must be constructed in places where they are lacking.

DENNY NSOKOLO: The government should ban street vending because of the following reasons:

• some vendors have turned into thieves on the streets and they have been harassing and stealing from innocent people

• Street vending has made Lusaka the dirtiest city in Southern Africa as vendors urinate in water bottles and small containers. Some defecate in drainages and even on roads, Lusaka CBD now stinks of urine.

• It’s not safe for people to be trading near busy roads like Lumumba full of speeding vehicles.

I believe government can find a safe place where people can be moved to.

SAM RICH ZULU: Almost every country in the world has street vendors. Just find them an alternative place with mobile toilets otherwise looking at the large number of fatherless children who are kept by these vendors we may end up producing more street kids than vendors in few years to come.

BRIAN MUWEMA: Government has to end indiscriminate street vending now. Lusaka and other places are a mess. Let government find them a temporary place while they find a lasting solution for them. Letting them go back would render the current cleaning exercise…

CONARD YOUNG: This Government should find means of collecting garbage every week or should chase vendors to go to the villages.

NGOMA JOHN TEKNICIAN: Vending has nothing to do with cholera. Even in developed Countries like South Africa street vending is there. Talk of Tanzania, street vending is there.

RUTH THOLE: Yes, government should ban street vending for good because it has brought more harm than good. Street vendors should be selling their merchandise from markets. We will follow them there.

ARNOLD MAYUWA: It's a good thing because a capital city has to be clean all the time. Look at Ndola, Chingola and Livingstone they are very clean compared to the capital city.

MALIKISO MALIKISO LEMMY: Atleast now Lusaka town looks clean, bravo Eagle 1 for this noble cause. Let all the vendors go back to the markets, let's learn from Kitwe & Luanshya no cholera cases this year.